This disclosure relates in general to satellite communication and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for distributing address information for communication devices within a satellite network.
A layer 2 (L2) network switch links devices based on a destination media access control (MAC) address. A conventional switch's function is to receive a packet and select a physical switch port to which the packet should be forwarded based on the destination MAC address. By monitoring all traffic, the switch builds a mapping table of addresses, commonly referred to as a forwarding information base (FIB), and the switch uses information in the FIB to switch packets addressed to known MAC addresses to direct traffic to the correct port of the switch. When the switch encounters a packet with a destination MAC address that is not recognized, the switch may broadcast (aka, flood) the packet to all of the switch ports (except the originator port through which the packet was received), until the switch learns a specific path to the host destination.